Pariah3j wrote:If you have TX plates, watch yourself in LA territory - apparently, the State Police love Texans and want to stop and chat with us as often is possible.

Perhaps your TX plates were traveling faster than LSP allows.

Not going to deny my lead foot, esp on the i-10/i-12 corridor ... lots of the same scenery to see which is about nothing. However, I know for a fact they target TX plates, because as soon as my company van got swapped over to LA plates, I stopped getting pulled over. That and I had them pick me out of a pack of LA drivers multiple times(while I still had TX plates).

My theory is they expect we will just pay the fine, being out of state we probably won't drive over to fight it. Which was true for all but one occasion, I hired a lawyer to show up and fight the traffic stop for me. Later found out I had a bench warrant out... he did 'eventually' fight the ticket. 2 weeks late - He failed to mention that part when I talked to him and he told me it was taken care of. So while it was no longer a moving violation, I still owed failure to appear fees and they wanted them pretty bad. So somehow he pled it down to a $25 fine... but the ticket was still almost 400 bucks because of FTA fee and court fees I laugh about it now, but I was furious when it happened.

"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny" - Thomas Jefferson

Pariah3j wrote:If you have TX plates, watch yourself in LA territory - apparently, the State Police love Texans and want to stop and chat with us as often is possible.

Agree. MS and AL, too. I've been driving from Dallas to FL at least two to three times a yr for over 20 yrs to visit family. If you have a Hispanic name with TX plates, be prepared to be asked to step out of the car in any of those states no matter how polite or respectful you. If in Louisiana, show 'em your CHL and rave about LSU football and the SEC. If in AL, do the same about the Roll Tide and Auburn being such great powerhouse football teams. And if in FL, strike up a conversation to find out which college team the officer likes (FSU, UF or Miami, depending what part of the state you're in), then rave about it and you should be good to go - lol.

If travelling through I-10 across southern Louisiana, don't go over the speed limit across the Atchafalaya basin. Same for I-10 across the Mobile Bay bridge and right when you cross into Florida near Pensacola. If you have time, check out the USS Alabama battleship in Mobile Bay. Also, Vicksburg (if taking I-20 east) has some cool Civil War monuments, and Biloxi has some nice casinos and good buffets, especially the Beau Rivage.

If taking I-20 East, it's actually faster to keep going til you get to Jackson, MS, then head south on US 49 to Hattiesburg, then southeast on US 98 to Mobile where you take I-65 South to I-10. When you get to Hattiesburg, take the I-59 loop east of Hattiesburg to US 98 to avoid the lights. Be forewarned of occasional speed traps on US 98.

Lots of folks think it's faster to take I-49 south from Shreveport to I-10 in Lafayette, but I've found that route to be about 20-60 minutes longer, especially if you run into traffic in Baton Rouge on I-12. If you do go down I-49 to Lafayette, make sure to fill up your tank before-hand. That stretch of highway doesn't have as many gas stations as the others.